pucker

American  

[puhk-er] / ˈpʌk ər /

verb (used with or without object)

puckers, present (3rd person singular) puckered, past participle, past puckering present participle

1. to draw or gather into wrinkles or irregular folds, as material or a part of the face; constrict.

   Worry puckered his brow.

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noun

puckers plural

1. a wrinkle; an irregular fold.

2. a puckered part, as of cloth tightly or crookedly sewn.

3. Archaic. a state of agitation or perturbation.

pucker British  

/ ˈpʌkə /

verb

1. to gather or contract (a soft surface such as the skin of the face) into wrinkles or folds, or (of such a surface) to be so gathered or contracted

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noun

1. a wrinkle, crease, or irregular fold

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• puckerer
  noun
• unpuckered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• puckers
  plural

Participles

• puckering
  present
• puckered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pucker
  simple
• puckers
  simple
• have puckered
  perfect
• has puckered
  perfect
• am puckering
  progressive
• are puckering
  progressive
• is puckering
  progressive
• have been puckering
  perfect progressive
• has been puckering
  perfect progressive

Past

• puckered
  simple
• had puckered
  perfect
• was puckering
  progressive
• were puckering
  progressive
• had been puckering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pucker
  simple
• will have puckered
  perfect
• will be puckering
  progressive
• will have been puckering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of pucker

1590–1600; apparently a frequentative form connected with poke ²; see -er ⁶ and for the meaning cf. purse

Explanation

Pucker is a verb for what happens when something smooth or flat gets folded up into little wrinkles, like how you pucker your lips when you go to kiss someone — you, wild flirt, you! When you use a sewing machine, sometimes the cloth puckers in wrinkly clumps that make it hard to sew in a straight line. Most of the time, it’s lips that do the puckering, maybe because you want a kiss, but also sucking on a lemon can make your lips pucker. If someone tells you to “pucker up,” they might want to kiss you, or they might throw a sour pickle at your head. Either way, get ready.

Example Sentences

He avoids kissing for 24 hours before a performance and 48 hours before a competition because it makes it difficult to sustain a pucker.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026

So, why then do so some folks willingly crave foods that make their mouths pucker and tongues tingle?

From Salon • Sep. 13, 2025

Mattel should have considered traditional pucker toe moccasins, instead of black shoes, and included symbols on the basket that Cherokees use to tell a story, she said.

From Washington Times • Dec. 4, 2023

In other words, this complex dance between art, anatomy, and archaeology can bring the past almost to life—one eyelash, pucker, and pore at a time.

From National Geographic • Oct. 23, 2023

They’re starting to pucker, hovering above limp lengths of string.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Related Words

• crinkle